Let me start off by saying that my closet is still a work in progress. I still make mistakes with some item purchases and I still have items in my closet that need to be donated. However, I’ve improved! Over the past 6 years, I’ve done a pretty darn good job of purging my closet of items that make me feel bad about myself. And adding clothes that make me feel pretty good about myself. So, I decided to type up some of my best tips for how YOU can have a closet full of clothes you love!
This post actually stemmed from a conversation I had with one of my girlfriends a couple months ago. She needed new clothes for work, but didn’t really know what to buy. She wanted something that made her feel good in her clothes…but she wasn’t sure what that magical item actually was.
So, here is the advice I gave her…
Step 1: Go about your life as usual. Get dressed for work in the morning and do all your work stuff. Then, at the end of the day spend 2 minutes and write down what you wore and how you felt in it. Bonus points if you snap a quick photo of yourself on your phone (you don’t have to share it with anyone).
Ask yourself:
- Did you feel comfortable?
- Did you feel confident?
- Did you look all disheveled and wrinkled at the end of the day?
- Did your shoes or clothes pinch or rub in an annoying way?
Write it all down! Do this for a month.
Step 2: Once you have a few weeks of quick notes to look at, grab 2 highlighters. For the first color (let’s go with yellow), highlight each outfit that made you feel good about yourself. For the second color (bring on the pink), highlight each outfit (or item from the outfit) that made you feel bad about yourself.
Step 3: Take those items that you highlighted in pink and stick them in a bag in another room. You’re not committing to donating them yet, but you are removing them from your closet so you can see what you actually have to work with.
Step 4: Look at the outfits that made you feel good about yourself and determine WHY it worked. Was it a color scheme that made you most comfortable? Was it a patterned blouse with a plain pair of pants and a solid cardigan? Was it a one-piece dress that you just threw on and felt great in all day?
Find the common items that resulted in you feeling GOOD.
Sources: DR2 blouse, Joe Fresh cardigan and Eileen Fisher slim knit pants.
Step 5: Replicate that outfit! Use the information you just learned about yourself and go shopping. Don’t go crazy, we are still in the experiment phase. If you found out that fit-and-flare dresses are your thing, go buy one or two more. If flowy blouses and cardigans make you happy, invest in a couple of each. Then…live in them for a while!
Sources: Tahari crepe fit-and-flare dress, Rachel Roy wrap dress, Collective Concepts floral dress and Gabby Skye print dress.
If you find it helpful, keep up with the outfit notes. If you live with your new outfits for a few weeks and decide you love your new ‘uniform’ then go ahead and buy a couple more items. BOOM… you’re already on your way to having a closet full of awesome clothes!
I’ve been working on my own wardrobe for years… I still make plenty of mistakes. I find it helpful to do a daily work outfit photo (which I then post on Instagram for funsies). Then, every so often I go through my folder of outfit photos and decide what should be donated and what I should re-create. I also keep an extra laundry basket in my closet for those ‘pink’ items that don’t fit quite right. I throw them in there and then at the end of the season I’ll decide whether to donate them or give them one more shot. Often, I realize that I never even missed the item… so I might as well donate it.
Will you try out any of these tips? Do you have any tips to add to help build a closet full of clothes you love?
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What a good idea! I will try this, thanks. I just hope not everything ends up in the basket!